Thurso

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This article refers to the town in Scotland. For the city in Canada, see Thurso, Quebec.

Image:StPeterKirk.jpg

ThursoTemplate:Mn (from Old Norse, perhaps meaning 'Thor's River') (Inbhir Theòrsa in Scottish Gaelic)Template:Mn is a town and a burgh on the north coast of Scotland. The town lies at the northern extreme of the A9 road, the main highway linking Caithness with the south of the country, and is about 32 kilometres (20 miles) west of John O Groats. Thurso is the most northerly location served by Britain's rail network, which links the town directly with Wick, the county town of Caithness, and with InvernessTemplate:Mn, which is the administrative centre of the Highland Council region.

The town is within the parish of Thurso, which has the parishes of Olrig and Bower to the east, Halkirk to the south, and Reay to the west. The parish of Thurso has also a north-facing Atlantic coastline stretching from Crosskirk Bay in the west to the Haven in Dunnet Bay in the east.

The River Thurso flows through the town and thus into Thurso Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The river estuary serves as a small harbour. Thurso has a fine harbour and beach and looks out over the Firth to the Orkney Island of Hoy and the famous towering Old Man of Hoy (A stac of rock standing out from the main island). About two kilometres (one mile) to the west of the estuary Scrabster Harbour berths a ferry ship, operated by Northlink and called "Hamnavoe", which links Thurso and the Scottish mainland with Stromness on the Orkney Islands. Scrabster has deep water in the shelter of Holborn Head.

Area offices of Highland Council are located in the town, as is the main campus of North Highland College. Thurso boasts also a small museum, a two-screen cinema, ten-pin bowling, a small skatepark and an internet cafe for cybergaming.

The town's history stretches back, at least, to the era of Norse Orcadian rule in Caithness, which ended, conclusively, in 1266. The town was an important Norse port, and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe, especially during the 19th century. Old St Peter's Kirk is said to date from circa 1220 and the time of Caithness Bishop Gilbert Murray, who died in 1245. Much of the town is however a planned 19th century development, and a major expansion occurred in the mid 20th century when an experimental nuclear power plant was established at DounreayTemplate:Mn, about fifteen kilometres (nine miles) to the west of the town. Within a period of perhaps ten years Thurso's human population then mushroomed, from around 3000 to about 9000, as Dounreay attracted skilled immigrants from all quarters of Scotland and the United Kingdom.

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Local government

Three wards of the Highland Council are named as Thurso wards: Thurso West, Thurso Central and Thurso East.

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Sport

The football (soccer) team, Thurso FC (nicknamed "the Vikings"), plays in the North Caledonian League.

Another football team in Thurso is the Pathetic Sharks. As their name indicates, they are not exactly Premier League quality.

Surfing, for a few years, was a big pastime with many of the local youths. The power of the waves rolling in from the North Atlantic has been compared with those of Hawaii. Certainly, for those with a penchant for barrelling reef-breaks, Thurso East leaves little to be desired on a good day. On a big day, twenty second coverups are not unknown.

The European Surfing Championships and Scottish Surf Kayaking Championships are sometimes held in Caithness, with Thurso East being the main focus of activity. This indicates the esteem in which Northern Scotland waves are held.

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Main road junctions

From Scrabster Harbour (Ordnance Survey Template:Gbmapping) the A9 runs generally east/southeast through Thurso and then generally south towards Inverness, Perth and Falkirk. In Thurso the A9 has junctions with two other classified roads, the A836 and the B874, and in the Georgemas area, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) south of Thurso, the A9 has a locally important junction with the A882 (Template:Gbmappingsmall), which leads towards Wick.

From the A9 near Burnside (Template:Gbmappingsmall), in Thurso, the A836 leads generally west towards Reay, Melvich, Bettyhill and Tongue.

From the A9 in central Thurso (Template:Gbmappingsmall) the B874 leads generally south towards Halkirk.

From the A9 in the Millbank area of Thurso (Template:Gbmappingsmall) the A836 leads generally east towards Castletown and John O Groats.

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Town of the year

Thurso has been voted Scotland's town of the year 14 years running. Template:Cite needed

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Footnotes

Template:Mnb Ordnance Survey grid references:
Template:Mnb The Scottish Gaelic name is a translation which assumes the town is named for the river, but reading Thurso as meaning Thor's River is linguistically suspect. The original meaning of Thurso is now very obscure and the River Thurso may be named for the town.
Template:Mnb For details of the rail links with Wick and Inverness, see Far North Line
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External links

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